


Rising Darkness

by Darth_Retaliation



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, Depression, Drama, F/M, Kylo Ren and Rey Are Not Related, Lemon, Romance, Rough Sex, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Smut, Torture
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-08
Updated: 2017-01-11
Packaged: 2018-05-12 13:55:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 15,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5668453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darth_Retaliation/pseuds/Darth_Retaliation
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Rey didn't escape Kylo Ren? What if she remained under his control? Will she accept the Sith's generous offer and betray her new found friends and go against all her believes? AU Star Wars story. Contains SPOILERS for The Force Awakens. Read at your own risk! Reylo :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: this story contains graphic descriptions of sex (in later chapters) and violence/torture. It will later become explicit, but I'll keep it at mature for now.

When did her life became like... _this_.

Rey stared at her reflection in the luxurious mirror, embed with gold and expensive gemstones in front of her. She stared unblinkingly at the reflection, at the woman clad in a black, sleeveless dress made out of silk that clung to her body perfectly, brown curls hanging loosely over her shoulders, and wondered not for the first time, when did her life change. Not even a year ago she was a scavenger on Jakku, making for a living by rummaging in old Imperial Star Destroyers, now scattered through the deserts, remnants of a time long gone, before she was born.

Then in the same desert she found a droid, BB-8 calling for help, trying to free himself from the net a vicious Jawa trapped him in. If she didn't help the little droid would she still be on Jakku?Would she still be struggling to survive, living in a fallen AT-AT covered with sand, without friends-not that she had them now eater.

Still, Rey cannot help but wonder how her life would have turned out if she didn't escape with Finn and BB-8. If she never came to Takodana and if she was never captured...

Sighting, she smoothed the dress and turned towards the single door in the room. Few steps separated her from the new life she was about to discover. Would it be a better one? Or a worse one? There was no room for such thoughts. The past was in the past. She had to get over with this.

Taking shaky steps, she stepped in front of the door and reached her hand to open it, but only to take a step back when the door opened by itself.

No, not by itself, but with the single being in the other room.


	2. Beginning of the End

„First comes the day then comes the night. After darkness shines through the light."

* * *

 

**_Several months before..._ **

* * *

Night became day.

The ceiling became the ground she walked just seconds before, but not the old adamantine ceramic but dry grass of another time, long gone-in a past forgotten by most beings. The sky was ominous and it would start raining any moment now.

_When did the Galaxy change?_

"Hello?" Wreathed in the irrationality of the moment, Rey called with all the strength she could muster at the moment, "Anybody there?"

The answer never came.

Rey started panicaly turning around her, searching for help- for an escape from this nightmare she gotten herself into. Why couldn't she just left the wooden box lay in the dirt it collected for years? There was a lock on the door for a reason, no matter the fact the door opened before she could make contact. Why did she open it? Even through the hallway she left moments before was dark- a narrow passageway made out of stone- it was darker in the room beyond. Among the stone arches and alcoves she could barely see- in the all consuming dark- the crates piled haphazardly and shelves filled with packages heavy with age and dust. She should have turned back to the cantina then. But Rey didn't. She never looked back. Carefully stepping forward she entered the room which had no reason for existing or organization of any kind. The lights turned on out of nowhere the moment she left the doorway. In front of her, a bust of some unknown bearded human sat on the floor next to an antique shield fashioned of an unknown silvery metal. Objects of obvious value sat side by side with simple woven baskets and bundles of unknown plants.

Rey ignored them all, moving deeper into the room toward a table on which rested a single wooden box. There was nothing especially impressive about the container, nothing overtly valuable or significant. Yet of all the items in the chamber she was drawn only to it.

_Why did I open it?_

It called to her. Whispered her name- Rey, Rey- in an all too familiar voice, but the one of a stranger at the same time. She reached out, only to draw back her hand at the surge of power emanating from the box. Taking a deep breath, she reached again and opened it. The box aged with years- years that came and went- opened with a crack revealing an elegant, metal cylinder.

Rey never saw something like it.

Without a second thought she reached for it.

She looked up, there, out of nowhere was a warrior, taking the full force of a lightsaber. He screamed and fell. Battlefield then, all around her. Putting a hand to her mouth, she started running. As she run for her life, she found herself confronted by seven tall, cloaked figures, dark and foreboding, all armed. Soaked and shivering, she stumbled backward. Firelight illuminated her, firelight from a distant, burning temple in the middle of a glorious city.

The seven vanished. A sound made her turn, and she blinked in surprise at the sight of a small blue-and-silver R2 unit. A new figure appeared, in a dark cloak with a hood covering his face. He reached out to the droid with an artifice of an arm-metal and plastics and other materials with which she was not familiar.

She blinked and both were gone.

The strange old room returned. Rey struggled to catch her breath and blinked several times, but the room remained.

"I need to get back." Rey shook her head, as if the simple physical action might somehow clear everything from her memory.

Her hand was still reaching for the strange object in the box. She stared in front of her for several moments, and then realizing how stupid she must have looked right then- staring at the object, hand hanging in mid-air toward the box- she quickly grabbed the cylinder and made her way out of the room and up the stone staircase as quickly as possible. Overwhelmed and exhausted both physically and mentally, It took all of Rey's self control not to start running.

Entering the cantina she settled on a bar stool and hid the object in her robes. She would never tell anyone about all this.

_I won't even think about it._

She could only shake her head tiredly. "I thought I was strong enough. Or tough enough. But I'm not."

The bartender who chatted with several customers while cleaning a dirty glass gave her a puzzled look.

_Did I say that out loud?_

She gave him a sheepish smile, and the man turned around again. She wasn't on Jakku anymore, in her makeshift home all alone.

 _Alone...alone_...It echoed in her mind as she sat there. She didn't have any friends on Jakku. Nor a family. She grew up all by herself. Discreetly she looked around the room. Nobody seemed to notice she was gone for several minutes. As always. Since her earliest childhood memories she was a shadow. Nobody cared for her, and nobody ever would.

The band kept playing, beings of various species lunged in different corners of the cantina. But Finn was gone. _Where is he?_ They were supposed to stick together. Another supposed-to-be friend left her.

Sighting she started walking towards the exit, gaze stubbornly set on the floor.

"And where are you going?"

Rey instantly stopped. Looking up she saw Maz, the simpatic lady Han introduced to her. Maza Kanata had old eyes covered with goggles. If Han was right she lived in Takodana for a thousand years by now.

_"I have lived long enough to see the same eyes in different people."_

And she saw something in Rey's brown ones, something Rey couldn't pinpoint.

"I don't know."

"Hmm, well Finn was looking for you." Maz said pointing a finger at her, "He's about to leave Takodana. If you want you could find him at the spaceport."

Rey noded and left the cantina.

The moment she stepped outside the castle she was met with Takodana's rainy climate- the one she isn't used to. Covered in lush forests and small lakes-another thing Rey never saw in her still short lifetime- Takodana was a popular departure point that offered easy access to trade routes that connected the Inner and Outer Rim. For those heading outwards toward the galactic periphery, the planet was seen as a last taste of civilization, while those heading Corewards saw it a last grasp of frontier living. Travelers found the planet's neutrality and distance from galactic politics appealing, and as a result Takodana became a haven for fugitives, smugglers, and explorers. The lack of Imperial activity on the planet, also attracted the Resistance in a small amount.

The small spaceport was settled on the shore of a lake next to Maz's castle. It couldn't host many ships, but it served it's purpose.

Rey found Finn with BB-8 near a cruiser with some beings of- to her- unknown species, preparing to leave.

"What are you doing?"

He edged Rey away from the ship, leaving the aliens to mutter in their language among themselves.

"Look, Rey," Finn started, „I'm not who or what you think I am. I'm not special; not in any way. This is theirs battle. Not mine. I don't belong here."

"You heard what Maz said," Rey hissed at him. "You're part of this fight. We both are." She searched his face. "You must feel something..."

"I'm sorry, Rey."

Rey was shaking her head slowly, not comprehending what she was hearing. "Finn, what are you talking about? I've watched you, I've seen you in action, I've..."

His voice tightened as he finally blurted out the truth. "I'm not a hero. I'm not with the Resistance. I'm a stormtrooper." That silenced her. He might as well have hit her across the face with the business end of a blaster. "Like all of them, I was taken from a family I'll never know," he continued rapidly pacing as he spoke. "I was raised to do one thing. Trained to do one thing. To kill my enemy. But my first battle, I made a choice. I wasn't going to kill for them. So I ran. As it happens, right into you. And you asked me if I was Resistance, and looked at me like no one ever had. So I said the first thing that came to mind that I thought would please you. I was ashamed of what I was. But I'm done with the First Order. I'm never going back." Suddenly he found it hard to swallow, much less to speak. "Rey, come with me."

"I-I can't..." Rey sputtered. This isn't happening. Finn's leaving and she has to stay here. She needs to help the Resistance. If she's sure of one thing, it's her destiny to help the Resistance defeat the Empire. She shook her head. "Don't go. You can redeem yourself by helping us."

"No, I'm sorry. Take care of yourself," he begged her. "Please."

He turned and headed back to the group of waiting aliens. The captain of the cruiser looked up at him. Finn nodded once, hoping the gesture was as universal as he had been told. "I'm ready whenever you're ready." The first mate replied in his stumbling language and Finn nodded, not knowing what the creature said but hoping he would get him as far as possible from Takodana.

BB-8, who was quiet for the whole conversation, strolled to Rey and chipped something close to _"Are you alright?"_

Kneeling down, she said in a whisper, "You're not going to leave me too, are you?" BB-8's receptor studied her for a long moment then he burst into a series of happy beeping. "Thanks, BB."


	3. The Darkness has arrived

Alone in his sanctuary, many meters under the planet's surface and broad daylight, Kylo Ren was kneeling in front of a misshapen skull-like mask, clad in his dark robes and terrifying mask, resembling the connection he shared with his grandfather, Darth Vader. Although, he didn't need it. It was legacy that made him start wearing it.

The sanctuary itself was a private place, but it didn't look like it. There was no need to mark it as such. No need for signs or audible warnings or protective devices. Everyone on the ship knew what it was, who it belonged to, and what lay within. None would think of violating the sanctuary. That way lay censure, possibly pain, and quite likely worse.

The lighting within was subdued. There would not have been much to see even in the presence of brighter illumination. A pair of consoles dominated by red lights flanked the doorway. A single projection console sat in the center, attended by a lone chair. Otherwise the room was sparsely furnished. The Sith had no need of the usual accouterments favored by sentient beings. He was content within himself and with who he was.

_The Empire's greatest weapon. The Master of the Knights of Ren. Sith apprentice._

The alcove where Kylo Ren was kneeling and speaking was darker than the rest of the adjoining chambers. He kept it deliberately so, as seemed appropriate for its function. He spoke now in a tone different from the one he usually employed when conversing with others. There were no orders to be issued here, no pathetic underlings to command. The one with whom he was presently communing would understand everything Ren chose to say, in whatever voice he chose to employ. No need here and now for intimidation, for fear. Kylo Ren spoke, and the object of his words listened in silence.

"Forgive me. I feel it again. The pull to the light. The Supreme Leader senses it. Show me again the power of the darkness, and I will let nothing stand in our way. Show me, Grandfather, and I will finish what you started."

There was no response.. Neither argument nor agreement. Only silence from the shape that had been the object of Ren's fervor: a ghostly, deformed mask that had once belonged to another. To a figure of rumor and legend and fear.

_Darth Vader._

Trembling slightly, he rose from where he had been kneeling and strode off to another portion of his private quarters. The young man started wildly pacing in the safety of the room's darkness.

Kylo Ren wondered if Darth Vader had such doubts. Had he ever doubted the Dark Side and everything it entailed? Did the light call to him too?

Such thought got the Sith only more frustrated. Resisting the urge to slash the furniture with his custom made lightsaber, Ren decided to drop the matter. He left the sanctuary and made his way to the central edifices of Starkiller Base.

Named after a mythical Sith apprentice, the base had the purpose culminating the Galactic Empire's research into dark energy translations and hyperspace tunneling, as well as being a to the ideals of the Galactic Empire. The name Starkiller greatly supported it's effort. The legend says Starkiller was Darth Vader's secret apprentice. An Assassin. Trained from childhood to kill the remaining Jedi and traitors to the all mighty Empire, trained to fulfill his Master' wishes. An example of loyalty and the Empire's power. In truth, he was trained for one thing: to kill the Emperor and rule with Darth Vader as his apprentice. The apprentice kills the Master, and takes an apprentice himself. Such was the Rule of two. The bane of the Empire.

Kylo Ren doubted the legend was true. Legends were...only legends. Several years from now and someone will say Vader had a whole group of secret apprentices.

_Nonsense._

His grandfather was loyal to the Emperor-until the incident on the second Death Star- and would never kill him just because he was envious of Sidious position as Emperor. In truth, it was his grandfather, Darth Vader who was the most powerful being in the Galaxy. The old man never had a chance against the much younger Dark Lord of the Sith.

He was close to the planet's surface now. The air was fresher, and the halls were more occupied.

"Mylord." A stormtrooper saluted him. "General Hux requires your presence."

Ignoring the stormtrooper, Ren made his way to the base's surface. Built into an ice planet, deep in the Unknown Regions, the base was twice the size than its predecessors and had even more firepower. Enough to destroy a star system. Starkiller Base represented a technological step forward in power, as the First Order believed was needed to become more powerful than the fallen Galactic Empire if they were to succeed in enacting their goals.

The moment Ren stepped out of the warm inner base, he was met with cold wind and snow. And a glorious sight of a thousand stormtroopers and their officers. Around them rose the central edifices of Starkiller Base. Towering still higher above the buildings were the snowy crags of the surrounding mountain range that simultaneously shut off and shielded the central portion of the base from the world around it.

The mass rally was impressive. Those who were present would never forget it. Just as Hux wanted. Although, Kylo Ren never understood the General's love for big events such as this, but he never argued with him. Once-while he was much younger- he asked the general what was the point of hosting big events. The answer was quite simple really: So people would never forget the power displayed in front of them. Which was the point of such things.

Glorying in the moment, General Hux stood at the head of the assembly flanked by his senior officers, all aligned atop a raised platform backed by an enormous crimson-and-black banner stamped with the insignia of the First Order. Ren walked up the stairs and stood next to Captain Phasma.

Enhanced by artfully concealed amplification, Hux's voice boomed across the troops assembled on the parade ground.

"Today is the end! The end of a government incapacitated by corruption! The end of an illegitimate regime that acquiesces to disorder! At this very moment, in a system far from here, the New Republic lives and wheezes, staggering onward, depraved and ineffectual and unable in any way to support the citizenry it claims to serve. Meanwhile a host of systems are left to wither and die-without aid, without care, without hope. Drowning in its own decadence, the New Republic ignores them, unaware that these are its final moments. This fierce machine which you have built, to which you have dedicated your lives and labor and upon which we now stand, will bring a final end to the worthless Senate and its dithering members. To their cherished fleet. When this day is done, all the remaining systems in their hundreds will bow to the dictates of the First Order. And all will remember this as the last day of the last Republic!"

Turning, Hux solemnly gave the signal as the assembled thousand turned to face the mountainous, snowy landscape. Turned, and waited.

On the other side of the planet, protected by the mountains surrounding them, enormous arrays of specially designed collectors use the power of a sun to attract and send dark energy to a containment unit at the core of the planet, where it's held and built up inside that containment unit until the weapon is ready to fire. Its ability to concentrate dark energy in this manner gave Starkiller Base access to an enormous source of energy. Which was about to be used.

Deep within the mountain, engineers and techs concluded the final firing protocol for the new weapon. A last connection was made.

Above, the rally ground was silent. Then, at a great distance, an impossible blast of light shot into the sky. Despite the remoteness of the actual firing zone, the light was so bright that despite their protective masks a number of the troopers had to cover their eyes. The blast was followed by a terrible concussive roar as a vast column of atmosphere was displaced. In spite of the distance, everyone was pushed back and many were knocked down by the ground tremor that followed. Airborne creatures by the thousands took fright and took flight.

* * *

"The blast will hit Hosnian Prime in any moment." General Hux was saying to Ren as they walked to the command center. "The pitfull New Republic won't stand a chance against our new weapon."

Hosnian Prime. Located in the Core Worlds, The planet was chosen as the Republic's capital and the headquarters of the Galactic Senate. Ren visited it only once, but he remembered the urban population and the many species inhabiting the planet.

"This is the day the First Order and Knights of Ren have been waiting for years." Kylo Ren said in his modified voice, the one he used in front of lower officers. „After we destroy the central of the Republic they will be shattered across the Galaxy and my knights will catch them."

"Patience. The Hosnian system is not destroyed yet." Hux said activating a holographic map of the known Galaxy. "After the Galactic Senate is out of our way, we still have to take care of the Resistance."

„We don't know where their main base is."

„No, we don't. But we know which planet hosts them."

General Hux pointed to a planet in the Western Reaches.

_Takodana._


	4. Beginning of the End- part 2

_Village being destroyed by a mass of white armor. Flames. Blasterfire._

Rey ran as fast as she could, blaster in hand. The remnants of her nightmare continued to blur her vision.

_A shuttle, far more imposing than those of the troopers, was descending, boasting exceptionally high folding wings and a raptor-ish silhouette. The bay door opened, allowing a single figure to exit. Tall, dark, and cloaked, with its face hidden behind a metal mask.The black, metal mask, with its slotted forehead and thick, snout-like breathing apparatus, covered the face of the man._

Rey shook her head. Movement to her left. She fired, both hands on the blaster. She tried to stay calm, but panic was starting to take over her. She was deep in the forest now, no sight of the castle. Only the muted sound of blaster fire.

She ran farther away.

Is BB-8 safe? Is he hidden?

_The tall, hooded figure did not waver in his course or objective, ignoring startled stormtroopers and armed villagers alike. Seeing him approach, an old man halted and waited, he knew there was no point in running. Resignation slid over him like a cloud._

Rey tried so hard to ignore the snippets of the terrible nightmare, but it was of no use. She already knew what would happen...

_The figure spoke first, without hesitation, as if he had anticipated this meeting for some time. "The great soldier of fortune. Captured at last." Though emanating from a human throat, the voice that was distorted by the mask had the sick flavor of the disembodied._

Rey trembled at the memory. The voice. It brought chills through her body.

She was getting tired. Her legs hurt and she struggled to breathe. She needed to rest. No, just keep going a little while longer...

_"You know what I've come for."_

_"I know where you come from. From a time before you called yourself Kylo Ren."_

The blaster fire stopped. Or she was too far in the forest to hear it? Rey allowed herself to slow down for a moment. Her vision was still blurred, but less than before. She looked around herself. All trees. It was dark. Too dark. Something was wrong. She continued running.

_From behind the mask, a growl: feral, but still human._

_The shadow, known as Kylo Ren, held out a hand. "Old man, give it to me."_

_"No."_

_Rage flared behind the mask as reason gave way to fury. "So be it. "_

_Kylo Ren raised his hand._

_Spilled blood._

"No!" Rey screamed. The nightmare disappeared. Only the forest remained. There wasn't a single creature nearby, except for her. And...

Sensing something just ahead, she slowed and brought the blaster up, breathing heavily. A figure stepped out from behind a tree.

It was the nightmare, and he was wielding a weapon-of-some kind...a lightsaber? It fitted the descriptions in the stories she had read as a child -a blade of pure plasma suspended in a force containment field. Something told her this one was unlike any other. Its beam was an intense, burning red like a controlled flame, and near the hilt, a pair of shorter beams shot outward, perpendicular to the main shaft.

The hilt...it looked familiar. Just like... It couldn't be.

_Could it?_

The cylinder she found in the old castle was a lightsaber! And she had it with her.

_But why was it hidden?_

No, now was not a time to think about this. And the saber was of no use to her; she didn't know how to wield it.Rey settled on the only weapon on hand -the blaster Han had given to her. She fired, again and again. Each shot from her blaster was deflected with the lightsaber's beam. Almost as if it were a game, she thought in terror as she continued to fire. He was playing with her.

I represent no real threat to him.

And what did you expect? He's a Sith, an elite commander in the First Order. And Rey was... a scavenger. Why even try to fight?

For BB-8. The droid needed to escape with the map. And his only chances were if she held off the nightmare approaching her.

She continued firing at him, at the monster in front of her. Blue blaster fire continued to be deflected by his red beam. Effortlessly. Until, evidently, he tired of it. He raised a hand, held it toward her, palm outward. Her hand froze on the blaster, she couldn't pull the trigger. Then Han's -her- blaster was thrown away, into the forest, to where she couldn't see it. Rey tried to turn, to run, but her legs refused to respond. She could only stand there among the trees, taking in slow, measured breaths, as he came toward her.

_Don't look at the mask._

Halting an arm's length away, he studied her face from behind his black mask. When he finally spoke, he sounded at once impressed and surprised. "You would kill me. Knowing nothing about me."

Finding that her mouth and lips worked, she replied defiantly. "Why wouldn't I kill you? I know about the First Order. About the killing and treachery."

"I would say otherwise. But that is a small thing. Simple ignorance is easily remedied. Forgotten." As he spoke, he walked slowly around her paralyzed body. Frightened, she tried to follow him with her eyes, but her head would not turn.

"So afraid," he murmured.

He stopped in front of her again. Rey squeezed her eyes shut. She wanted to cry, yell...fight.

But she couldn't. Her dignity wouldn't allow her to.

And the fact she was paralyzed, definitely made her unable to fight back.

"Tell me, am I to be afraid?" The nightmare started circling her again. "I should be the one who is scared. Not you. You shot first. Even before you saw me, you were shooting at the stormtroopers. You speak of the Order as if it were barbaric. And yet, it is I who was forced to defend myself against you."

Having circled her, he moved even closer, peering into her face, her eyes. Then the red lightsaber he held came up: close to her flesh, close enough to cast a red glow on her skin.

Rey tried to pull away, but she found that she still couldn't move.

"Something." He sounded mystified. She felt her body relax. He was letting her out of his hold, just for a little bit. "There is something...Who are you?"

"I'm nobody."

Shutting down and belting his lightsaber, Ren contemplated his immobile captive. Reaching up slowly, he touched her face.

Refusing to meet his gaze, she looked away, straining with the agony of resistance, hardly daring to breathe. If only she could free a hand, a leg - but no part of her body responded to her commands, except for her head. She pushed her it away from him, but Ren grabbed her face, forcing her to look at his mask. Rey felt something happening to her head. Her head started to spin and a headache began to form behind her eyes.

She didn't know what was happening and if it was the Sith's doing, but after a while Ren lowered his hand and took a step backwards.

She felt her limbs again. The monster let her go? Just like that? Instead of running, Rey remained glued to the ground staring at the much taller figure in front of her.

"Is it true, then? You're nothing special after all? You're just a Jakku scavenger?"

How did he know that?

Was it possible...could he read her mind? By just touching her? If that was true then...

Her line of thought was cut off as he touched her face anew, his other hand grabbing her wrist. This time, knowing what he was trying to do, she pushed him off. Or at least Rey tried. The resistance hurt her. The pain of trying to stave him off caused unwanted tears to stream down her face. He was within her mind and her thoughts, and there was absolutely nothing she could do to keep him out. To resist. But she kept trying, trying...

"Hmm...," he murmured softly. "You've met the traitor who served under me. An overgrown nuisance. You find him more than tolerable." He drew back slightly, bemused. "You've even begun to care for him. A weakness, such distractions."

Suddenly he put his face so close to hers that they were almost touching.

She could hardly swallow as she strained to pull away from him, anything to pull away, to get him out.

She wanted to scream, but he would not allow it.

Then an idea hit her. She had a free hand. And Ren was occupied with her mind right now. The lightsaber...

"You've seen it! The map! It's in your mind right now..."

The monster in front of her was cut off as he felt a metal cylinder press into his abdomen. He looked at her hand pressing the lightsaber against him, and after several moments he looked back at her.

Rey could swear he was smiling under the mask. She frowned and pushed the weapon against his abdomen for emphasis.

"Foolish, girl." Ren said with a very apparent smirk. "You are holding the lightsaber the wrong way."

Rey could feel heat rushing up her neck. Of course she would do something as stupid as this.

Ren took the lightsaber from her, grabbed both of her arms and continued probing her mind in search of the map.

* * *

 

Back at Maz's castle, Han's thoughts were racing as a second squad of troopers appeared behind them.

"How are we gonna get out of this one? There's too many of 'em," he muttered to Chewbacca. When no reply was forthcoming, he added, "Any ideas?" The Wookiee moaned a terse reply, to which Han responded with a half sneer. "Very funny."

"Hands on heads. Let's go." The lead trooper gestured in the direction of a parked transport. "Try anything and I'll shoot your legs off."

They didn't try anything. Han knew that there was a time to take chances and a time to wait for an opportunity, what he didn't expect was that the latter would make an appearance so soon.

Accompanied by other attack crafts, the familiar shapes of X-wings came in low and fast, roaring over the lake and the forest as they blew apart the First Order ships.

Marked in black, one particular X-wing swooped in dangerously low, attacking at treetop level. Blast after blast took out parked TIE fighters, clusters of troopers, and support vehicles. Whoever was piloting was skilled enough to fire repeatedly without wasting a single energy burst.

As the captives dove for cover, another blast scattered their captors as they tried to fight back armed only with hand weapons. Turning his gaze skyward, Han followed the black-stained X-wing as it looped around in an impossibly tight arc, coming back for another run.

"C'mon, Chewie, there's nothing else we can do here."

Chewbacca roared in agreement.

Taking cover under the fallen walls of the castle, the duo made its way to the Millennium Falcon, resting safety on the other side of the lake, in the cover of trees. They didn't expect to find the little droid there.

"BB-8, what are you doing here? Get onto the ship before those nasty guys see you."

BB-8 made a series of beeps and whistles.

"I'm sure Rey is fine. She's a clever girl. Now c'mon, we need to get that map to Leia."

* * *

 

At the sound of nearby explosions, Ren ceased his probing, but he did not remove his hand from Rey's face as he turned toward the now ruined castle. She stood before him, gazing blankly into the distance. A clutch of stormtroopers came toward him through the trees.

"Sir," the leader gasped, his alarm and dismay evident, "Resistance fighters!"

"What to do..." He said to the girl - Rey, that was her name. She only closed her eyes. Poor thing, she was struggling so hard not to cry. And it was such a shame to see those beautiful brown eyes cry.

"Pull our troops out. We have what we need."

Without another word, Rey fell into his arms unconscious.


	5. Korriban

"Sir," the leader gasped, his alarm and dismay evident, "Resistance fighters!"

"What to do..." He said to the girl - Rey, that was her name. She only closed her eyes. Poor thing, she was struggling so hard not to cry. And it was such a shame to see those beautiful hazel eyes cry.

"Pull our troops out. We have what we need."

Without another word, Rey fell into his arms unconscious.

Kylo Ren carried the girl as thought she weighted almost nothing- and by the look of her skinny body the statement wasn't far away from the truth- through the now dark forest and toward the First Order's shuttle. The Sith wondered how hard her life must have been. When he looked into her mind earlier, his focus being on the map, he caught only glimpses of a dessert planet and a mother being torn from her child. Not that he cared about the girl. He was just...curious. He doesn't meet force sensitive beings every day, not since he became a Sith.

Out of the corner of his mask he saw a man exit a black X-wing and stare at the lone figure striding through the edge of the forest.

_At him._

Kylo Ren ignored him. Just another naïve Resistance fighter. He would be dead soon.

The Knight of Ren paid no attention to the blasts gouging the dirt around him and the fire of retreating stormtroopers, making a beeline for the atypically designed shuttle. Stormtroopers saluted him as they boarded their transports in a hurry. The castle's survivors were taking the slower ones down one by one. _Stupid men._

Once in the comforting silence of the shuttle, Ren took the still unmoving girl to the passenger's compartment and laid her on the bunk. She should be asleep for another few hours, enough for them to retreat to the Starkiller base. Ren locked the door, thought. He hated unwanted complications.

Signaling the pilot to take off, Ren settled into a chair and watched as the remaining First Order ships ascended and formed up in the wake of the shuttle, creating a tight escort to seal it off from any pursuit.

The planet became smaller and smaller as the First Order left its system, until it disappeared in the blue rays of lightspeed.

_Soon, he would have what they needed._

* * *

 

Several hours later, the young Dark Lord of Sith found himself looking out of the viewport at the planet of Korriban and its seven moons orbiting around it, instead of the Starkiller base as expected.

General Hux contacted the shuttle shortly after its jump to hyperspace and after Ren's report of the successful mission, Hux gave Snoke's order for the Knight to go to the ancient homeworld of the Sith. The Supreme Leader found Korriban a better location for the interrogation than the base. After all, its location needs to remain a secret. And the Dark Side of the Force inhabiting the planet of Korriban will most certainly help Ren in his mission. Accompanied with a few ships- that remained with him, instead of returning to the Starkiller base- the shuttle marched in subspeed towards the lone planet.

Marooned in space, as if the other planets have chosen to hide from it.

Kylo Ren watched as the red and brown planet loomed closer. The Dark Side was welcoming him home. This planet is a place of great power. He felt it, beneath the blood read clouds; the dark side lives and breathes in the very core of this world. It had a sick sweetness to it, something that seemed to pour through his veins, attracting and repelling him at once. It was the most complicated surge of the dark side he had ever felt. The Sith welcomed it.

The few First Order's ships accompanying the shuttle, docked in the spaceport of Dreshdae, the capital city of Korriban, often called Moraband now. Ordinary beings found the name Korriban disturbing because of its relation to the Sith species. Like they could erase the planet's glorious past.

Stepping out of the shuttle, Kylo Ren was met with the cold and dry climate of the planet. Surrounded by a large mountain range, the city looked more like a refugee's camp than a capital. Built on a plateau, the capital consisted of a huddle of buildings cramped together with no effort at orderly design, most of them being empty and in various states of destruction- _the result of violence or the planet itself?_ The roads were poorly made and in lack of transports.

And no sign of living beings.

Ren could feel them through the Force, through. He felt their fear. Their gaze upon him as he walked through the deserted landing platform. They knew who he was. And they feared him.

The Sith looked around the spaceport. Empty. Like everything else in this star system. There was no one to check the ships in and no one to care. Everything was deserted, except for a small number of old cruisers behind an energy fence.

He signaled his troops. Battalions of troopers emerged from the two Star Destroyers and made their way toward the outskirts of the city, where a base was settled in the shadows of the mountain and within the mass of red rocks and dirt. Among the mass of white armor, Ren caught a glimpse of the girl being carried into a black speeder and transported in the opposite direction. Toward the Sith Academy of the Brotherhood.

Kylo Ren smiled under his mask as he made his way through the main thoroughfare of Dreshdae, a narrow, unpaved street. Before he could join the girl at the academy, he had a meeting to attend.

The city was a hodgepodge, a drab spaceport that had grown and shrank without regard for utility or beauty. A collection of temporary buildings made of plastoid blocks or cheaper metals that rusted with age. Although Dreshdae tried to present itself as a typical brash city struggling to grow, the strain showed. There was no disguising what the spaceport had been and was- a dark and dangerous place. Undercurrents of its evil past bubbled up through the cracks in the stone facings and the hastily erected walkways.

As Ren walked through the city he saw various beings hurry through the streets as if anxious to find shelter. The buildings were far between now and most of the stores were closed. In front of him, Kylo Ren could spot the highest peak of the ancient Academy now; a towering pyramidal structure made of stone and durasteel that reflected the sun framed at the apex of the structure.

"Mylord." A voice said behind him.

The Sith smiled behind his black mask.

"What information do you bring before me, FN-2187?"

* * *

 

Kylo Ren watched as the girl- Rey- slowly started regaining consciousness. He watched from the shadows as Rey inspected her confined limbs in silence for a few moments and then took a moment to take stock of her surroundings, they were as different as could be imagined from her previous ones. The last thing she remembered was the confrontation in the forest on Takodana, the sounds of battle. The Sith felt her distress and disorientation. It was understandable she would feel this way. It wasn't very nice to wake up after unconsciousness and realize you are being held hostage in a dark cell.

Her gaze lingered for a moment on the spot where Kylo Ren was standing, invisible to her by the darkness around him.

_// He was there. The nightmare. //_

She was startled- was it by his unsettlingly silent Force presence or the situation she got herself into, Ren couldn't tell. She tried to move, break free. But without success. The complex restraining apparatus held Rey tight, making it impossible to move. It was obvious she wanted to scream. Through, she didn't. The girl knew there was nobody to help her. She thought she was...alone; the girl felt lonely, forgotten.

Still quietly listening to Rey's frantic troughs, Ren remained in the darkness off the holding area and did not move, did not make a sound, and at times scarcely seemed to breathe.

Her mind ran through the last moments on Takodana.

_// The mind probe. The pain. My efforts to shut it out and the contemptuous ease with which her mental defenses had been brushed aside. The forest was gone. So was Maz's castle. //_

Bereft of a point of reference, she had no choice but to ask.

"Where am I?"

"Does the physical location really matter so much?" Kylo Ren's voice was unexpectedly gentle. Not quite sympathy, but something less than the hostility with which he had confronted her in the forest. The gentleness was was necessary for now. He had to win the girl over, see his- their- point of view. "You're my guest."

If she could be turned to the Dark Side, she could be an invaluable asset. She knows nothing of the Force, but she's still powerfully connected to it. A gift not many beings posses. If handed correctly... Mes could ardyti Snoke ir tave plejada valia buti ours kia xuontai. Su ji by nuyak garthaz. Vi nuyak xaari.

With an ease that was more frightening than any physical approach, he waved casually in her direction. A couple of clicks, and the restraints fell away from her arms. The girl's hazel eyes widened as she rubbed her wrists.

_// Get a grip Rey! Don't let him intimidate you! //_

The Sith felt her insecurity as she looked at him. Though at the moment he was calm, she could not escape the feeling that a wrong word, an unsatisfactory response, might set him off.

_// Be very careful with this person. //_

He looked at her as if she had just spoken aloud. She could not hide her thoughts.

"You still want to kill me," he murmured.

Her true self got the better of her and she replied tactlessly, despite the danger. "That happens when you're being hunted by a creature in a mask."

She had a moment to ponder his possible reaction and to fear it. But he did not do what she expected. Instead, he reached up, unlatched and removed his mask. She just stared at him in silence. The narrow face that now looked back at her was almost sensitive.

_// If not for the intensity of his gaze, Ren could have passed for someone I might have met on the streets of Niima Outpost. But there was-that gaze. That, and what lay simmering behind it. //_

"Is it true?" he finally asked. "You're just a scavenger from Jakku, rummaging old ships for food?"

She didn't respond.

_// How did he know this? Was he able to read all her memories? //_

"By the same way I learned everything else about you." The Sith said smiling at her. "And let's say a friend told me a thing or two about your last days on Jakku."

_// A friend? //_

"Your questions will be answered with time. Now, tell me where's the droid."

"No." Rey said, stubbornly lifting her chin.

""I know you've seen the map. Somehow, you convinced the droid to show it to you. You. A simple, solitary scavenger."

Rey remained silent. She knew denying the truth was of no use, but neither was submitting to his will.

_// Was it? //_

"You won't get the map." She said as through nothing can change her mind. _Foolish girl._

"You know, I can take whatever I want."

Her muscles tightened. "Then you don't need me to tell you its location."

"True. I would have preferred to avoid this. Despite what you may believe, it gives me no pleasure. I will go as easily as possible-but I will take what I need."

Rey took a step backwards.

"No." She whispered in horror. "Not this again."

Kylo Ren grabbed her upper arms. "Don't try to resist me. Unless, you want to experience unpleasantness of a...Different kind."

She remained motionless and silent, her arms pinned at her sides by his much stronger ones. He guided her to a wall, at the back of the small cell. She gasped as her back hit the cold stone. Before she could object, his hand rose toward her face. He touched her again, as he had in the forest on Takodana.

Despite his warning, she strained to resist the probe as he pushed into her mind, brushing aside her awkward attempts to keep him out. While he investigated her mind, he spoke softly, his hot breath hitting the sensitive skin behind her ear. She barely managed to suppress the sigh of pleasure that rose up in her throat. She barely registered his worlds, only aware of her unsteady breathing and the pounding of her own heart.

"You've been so lonely," he murmured as he searched for what he needed. "So afraid to leave." A thin smile crossed his face. "At night, desperate to sleep, you'd imagine an ocean. I can see it...I can see the island."

Awareness returned to her at his words. She tried to block him harder. Tears were streaming down her face from the effort she was making to withstand him. Increasingly desperate, she did try to strike out. But just as on Takodana, her body refused to respond.

"And Han Solo," Ren continued relentlessly. "He feels like the father you never had. A dead end, that vision. Let it go. I can tell you for a fact he would have disappointed you."

"Get. Out. Of. My. Head."

It only made him lean in closer, enhancing her feeling of complete helplessness. "Rey-you've seen the map. It's in there. And I am going to take it. Don't be afraid."

Where the strength to defy him came from she did not know, but if anything, her voice grew a little stronger. "I'm not giving you anything."

His response reflected his unconcern. "We'll see."

Narrowing his gaze and his focus, he locked eyes with her. She met his stare without trying to look away. She should have looked away. It would have been the rational thing to do. The sane thing to do. Instead, she just glared, trying not to flinch, not to blink.

Ah, he thought to himself. Something there, of interest. Not the image of the map. That would take another moment. But definitely something worth investigating. He shifted his perception toward it, seeking to identify, to analyze, to-

The barrier he encountered stopped him cold. And it was he, Kylo Ren, who blinked. It made no sense. He pushed, hard, with his mind-and the probe went nowhere.

A look of amazement replaced the fear on Rey's face as she discovered herself inside his mind. Stunned at the realization, she found herself inexorably drawn to- to...

"You," she heard herself saying clearly, "you're afraid. That you will never be as strong as- Darth Vader!"

His hand pulled sharply away from her cheek as if her skin had suddenly turned white-hot. Confused, rattled, he stumbled back from her. Her gaze followed him. Her eyes were the same, but something else had changed-something behind them, in her stare and in her posture.

"You don't know what you brought yourself into."

"Then tell me."

"No. Where's the fun in that?"

Rey stared unblinkingly at him, confusion visible on her beautiful face.

He moved to leave and, at the last moment, turned toward her again. "Someone will come and see you shortly."

Then he once again donned his mask and was gone.

* * *

 

In one of the many corridors of the Academy, a stunned Ren found that he was breathing hard. That in itself was unsettling. He did not know what had just transpired in the holding cell, but was certaint of one thing.

_The girl was already more powerful in the Force than he thought. Tym meo nenx bukle kia tegu ji zuti dabar._

Straightening, Ren gathered himself. It's time to set his new plan into action.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: The MA (NC-17) content starts within the next chapter...


	6. Traitor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I have had this terrible writers block for a while... I won't bother you with my problems...In short, I changed my mind a lot in the past few weeks. For bad and good...mostly for bad...
> 
> You will notice, this chapter isn't what I promised and I have no excuses...

_What happened?_

Unable to move, Rey remained standing, leaning against the black wall, pondering her earlier encounter with Kylo Ren.

One, moment she was experiencing the same pain and fear she felt in the forest of Takodana- only more intensified as he probed deeper and deeper into her mind- and the next she was in his mind. It was as if her resistance had somehow turned the probing back on him. For a brief instant, she had been in his mind. She could remember clearly his shock, concern, and finally a retreat. He had pulled away from her, and out of her mind, with a suddenness that bespoke...not fright, but something else. Apprehension. And a strange sense of satisfaction.

For some unknown reason he backed away.

No doubt not only to consider what had taken place; furthermore to decide how to proceed with her. Meaning he would be back. And Rey didn't have nether enough strength or knowledge to hold him back again. Kriff, she didn't know how she blocked him even minutes before. She was just lucky. But no matter what, she had to escape. Giving the illly lit room a second glance, Rey noticed the room was craved into a big block of stone. A gigantic block of stone. The cell was probably underground; that would explain the lack of natural lightning and fresh air. No way of escape.

 _Will I die here?_ A dark voice whispered in the back of her head. No, she will fight.

Muted beeps of a keyboard being pressed caused a stop to her thoughts. _Was it outside her cell?_ Then she remembered his words.

_"Someone will come and see you shortly."_

This may be her only chance to escape before the nightmare returns. She had to move, surprise her _quest_. Somehow finding the strength to push herself off the wall, Rey walked quickly behind the door. _Let him get inside then make a run for it._ But how far will she be able to run before they catch her? It didn't matter. She would go step by step. First she needed to get out of this cell.

Rey was surprised to notice time slowed down, and how her senses intensified. As thought some invisible force came to help her. It happened only once before, when she tried to fly the Millennium Falcon. Hopefully it will help her now, as it did then.

The metal door opened slowly with a prolonged swoosh.

Rey was prepared for the run, when she froze in place, staring at the man before her.

_Finn._

_What? How? When?_

Her thoughts ran frantically through her mind as she continued to stare unblinkingly at her friend standing in the doorway, clothed in a white stormtrooper armor. He came for her! She knew he wouldn't let her down. She knew Finn would never leave her. Well, not for a long period. But how did he get here?

Wherever _here_ was.

Wait...wasn't he a traitor? Finn left the First Order! He should be banished... They wouldn't let him back just like that. _Unless..._

_No, it couldn't be..._

Rey stood there for what felt like an eternity, but were mere seconds as a sense of betrayal and anger washed over her. He lied to her. He lied from the beginning. He tricked her and the Resistance. He never left them. He was with them all along. He even told them about Takodana. That was probably why he was in such a hurry to leave the planet. _Traitor._

Rey wasn't an aggressive person, but right then she wanted to hit something. She wanted to hit Finn. Hard. Rey wanted to hurt him.

"Rey?" Finn's confused voice rang through the room. He carefully stepped into the small cell, closing the door behind him.

"Traitor," Rey hissed as every thought of escaped left her mind.

"Oh, hey! I didn't see you back there," Finn said a small grin playing on his face. _How dare he act as thought nothing happened?_ As through they were on Takodana, with Maz and Han. _As through the castle wasn't destroyed._

Rey didn't say anything in return, silently expecting his armor. It was like every other, stark white with black material underneath in, visible only at places where different plattes connected. The only thing that separated him was the fact he wasn't wearing a mask and the designation on his shoulder: FN-2187.

"Nice armor. I'm surprised they gave you one since you left the First Order," Rey finally said emotionless. There was no surprise in her voice, only boiling anger. And Finn knew it.

"Look, Rey," Finn said raising his arms in a gesture of surrender, "Things are complicated. Just let me explain."

"You don't have to. I perfectly understand what's going on here."

"You do?"

"Yes. You're a coward, liar and traitor who doesn't have compassion for other living beings. Only for himself." Rey answered with acid sweetness, "What did they promise you for spying on the Resistance? Promotion? Credits?"

"You don't mean that, Rey," Finn said frowning.

"Yes, I do."

"I'm sorry to hear you think that of me, Rey," Finn said his face suddenly devoid of emotion.

"And what am I to think, Finn? If that's even your name?"

"No, Finn isn't my name. I don't have any." Finn said sighting, "Rey listen to me. I did what I had to. We cannot fight the First Order. You saw what they did! What they are capable of! Our only hope for survival is to join them."

Several minutes of uncomfortable silence passed between Rey and Finn; Finn trying to show Rey his perspective and Rey processing Finn's words and trying to calm herself down. She mussed about Finn's last sentence. Something was odd about it. How does he mean...

"We?" Rey hissed.

"Kylo Ren sees great potential in you. If you join us you could have everything you ever wanted. Water, food, a place to leave peacefully. You wouldn't have to scavenge old ships anymore."

"Is that your way of answering my question? You will do horrible things as long as you have credits?"

"No, I'm just being realistic. The First Order could provide you all that. What can the Resistance do? There's no way they could defeat the First Order! And if they somehow manage to do that, which I doubt, what then? They have nothing, Rey. The Senate is destroyed and there are no credits to assemble a new one. The Galaxy will be in chaos."

"We'll manage." Rey said rising her chin. "There weren't no credits thirty years ago ether, and there was still a Senate."

"A weak one. And lets not forget the Knights of Ren. They won't back away easily."

"The Knights of Ren?" Rey asked confused. What was he talking about? She never heard of this...group.

"Oh, great! You don't even know who you are fighting!" Finn said desperately.

"I know who I'm fighting!"

"Really?" Finn said rising an eyebrow. "It doesn't look like it."

"Just say what you want, FN-2187."

"I don't want anything. Kylo Ren does. I'm just a messenger."

"Fine. What does Kylo Ren want?" Rey asked exasperated.

"He wanted me to show you to your room."

"You must be joking."

"No, you will get further instruction when there."

"And why would I go anywhere with you?" Rey said rising an eyebrow.

"Because you don't have a choice," Finn answered simply. "Now, move before we both get into trouble."

"No." Rey said stubbornly crossing her arms. She isn't going anywhere with that Nerfheader. She would rather root in this hellhole of a prison.

"Stop acting like a child, Rey and start moving before I'm forced to drag you out."

"You're an idiot." Rey said as she stomped out of the cell and into what seemed to be a long dark hallway. Just like the cell she just left, the hall was dark, illuminated only with dimmed lights above what seemed to be more cells. An unusual place.

The words left her tongue before she could think about them, "What is this place?"

"Ren calls it an Academy," Finn said from behind her."Through, it looks more like an interrogation building of some sort."

Rey nodded as she slowly tipped her way through the darkness. An interrogation building? That would explain why she was taken here.

She thoroughly examined her surroundings. There were no decorations on the walls or windows, just durastell and stone stretching for what seemed forever in the darkness. Rey caught a fleck of light far ahead. One of the rooms must be open. She started walking faster toward the light, like a dehydrated being towards water. Only to pull to a halt abruptly.

Screams. Begging for mercy. Laughter. Flesh being torn open.

Someone was being tortured ahead.

Finn nudged her to hurry up, anxious to leave the underground. Rey didn't move.

"Please, start moving, Rey." Finn said grabbing her arm and pulling her forward.

"Who's doing that?"

"One of the Knights of Ren probably," Finn answered looking straight ahead at the darkness. "You will get used to it."

Rey dubbed it.

She tried not to look inside the room as they passed it, but her efforts failed.

Damp, dirty, blue-gray bricks held the cold inside the room as if it were collecting it. A single dancing light, flickered across the walls, moving to an unseen rhythm. Scratches in the stone and rusty chains hung with eerie decoration as a reminder of the past, a pat full of sadness and death; of pain. Thick white spider webs flowed across the room, shimmering in the pale light, and a lone live victim struggled against the intricate design. Wrapped tightly in silk threads its will faded as the owner of the beautiful, but deadly, creation approached carrying hunger in its many eyes. Rats squealed and padded across the hard floor, their nails scraping the ground as they scattered away from the crystal webs as if in fear they would be caught, too.

In a matter of seconds the light faded, the small beings inhabiting the room, except for the lone half-death figure disappeared. Only to be replaced by a tale figure, cloaked in dark robes, approaching its victim like an predator before it jumps onto its prey.

Rey was staring at the man strapped to the cold wall, blood mixed with sweat streaming down his pale face and chest, his screams tearing her ears apart. His eyes were tightly shut, not wanting to see the scene in front of him; a creature in black, drawing patterns on the man's chest. Pain tingled on the victims face. Unable to resist any longer the man's eyes snapped open and stared at the pair hidden in the darkness of the hallway. His eyes were on Rey.

Rey couldn't blink or tore her gaze away. Somehow deep inside of her, she felt a dull feeling of pain, only a flicker of the pain the poor man must be feeling. _What kind of being could do something like this?_

At her unspoken question the creature turned its head in the same direction his victim had moments before. Golden eyes gleamed at her from under the shadow of the hood. A snarl escaped its lips. A tug at her arm. Rey didn't acknowledge it. Another one, more rough this time.

Finn started pulling her away. "Whatever you do, don't look at them. They don't like it."

Rey could only nod.

They walked the remaining few meters of the hallway in an uncomfortable silence, Finn walking beside her with a grip on her upper arm, making it impossible for her to back away from him.

"Could you please let go of my arm," Rey demanded as the darkness started subduing as they neared a corner and moved up a black stairway.

"Sorry," Finn muttered.

Rey had to shield her eyes at the sudden light at the top of the stairs. Adjusting to the brash light, Rey couldn't believe what she saw. The room, which must be the main hall, contained a high ceiling and she had to stretch her neck to see the glass roof and dual stair cases leading to the upper levels, and in the center piece of the hall was a narrow stone monument which was carved with the faces of ancient beings clad in robes. The walls were decorated with red flags and portraits of various species.

_How could something be terrible and beautiful at the same time?_

"Finn?" She asked in a whisper, not tearing her gaze from the monument.

"Rey?"

"Who lives here? And why did they build this place? And which planet is this?" He said it was an Academy, a place of knowledge. But what had torture to do with knowledge? She thought it was a prison. But this room was too beautiful to be a prison. And the whole place- the whole planet had this cold sense of...death.

"The planet's called Moraband, and this place is sometimes used by the Knights of Ren, and sometimes it's empty. That's all I know. Or better to say, that's all they let us know.

"Why?"

"The Knights of Ren are a mysterious...sect. They have strange powers. Like the Jedi did, but darker."

"Oh."

"Oh?" Finn smiled. "That's all you have to say?"

"Well, excuse me, but I was captured and brought here without explanation, so sorry if I'm not as talkative as you would like me to be."

Finn muttered something untellable under his breath and led Rey to a lift which took them to the upper floors of the building. Rey was transfixed to the decor of the place. As far as she could tell, only the lower levels were sparsely decorated. The rest was a luxurious as she could imagine. It was far from a cozy place, but it looked magnificent with its red carpets and golden lights.

Finn brought her to a stop in front of a massive door and without further words stepped aside, motioning for Rey to enter. She didn't move.

"You're not going in?" she asked puzzled. Finn said she would get answers when after she gets to _her_ room and this must be the place. Then why was he leaving?

"No, orders were just to bring you here. Your host will explain everything else to you."

"My host?"

"Kylo Ren."

Oh, great. The very thing she tried to avoid.

Rey remained watching the door in front of her, not attempt of entering in her mind...

"It will be alright," Finn tried to soothe her. "Just try not to be too stubborn and do as he says."

"There's no way I'm gonna listen to Kylo Ren," Rey said as she palmed the door open.

Cautiously stepping into the room, Rey immediately caught sight of Kylo Ren standing in front of a floor-to-ceiling window, staring at the death landscape, his back turned to her.

Not knowing what to do Rey remained standing at the rooms entrance as the door closed behind her, leaving her entrapped with her nightmare. She put her emotions aside, at the deepest corners of her mind. Away from Ren's seeking mind. After all, she knew why he summoned her here. He wanted more information. He wanted Luke Skywalker. He wanted to destroy the Resistance's last hope.

Despite the fact Ren didn't acknowledge her, he was perfectly aware of her presence in the room. His lack of interest reeks of arrogance and it feels like it's a slap in the face. It says I don't consider this poor scavenger a threat. Was he trying to demoralize her? Put her in her place?

"I would never do such a thing, scavenger," Ren's voice came from the other end of the room. His natural voice she reflected.

"It's incredibly rude to read someone's private thoughts, you know."

"Hm. I thought you realized by now that I don't follow protocols and social accepted," The Sith answered still not glancing behind him.

Why did it even matter if he wasn't looking at her. She couldn't hurt him ether way and his gaze was oddly disturbing. It reminded her all the more of the fact that he could probe into her mind whenever he felt like it.

The Sith didn't say anything afterwards, still as stone, gazing at the evening- _or was it morning_ \- sunlit valley. Rey couldn't see what Ren saw, just a small amount of a blood red sky with dark clouds and mountains far ahead. Her interest in the new planet took over and Rey stretched her neck in an attempt to see more of the unusual planet. As far as she could see, Moraband was the opposite of Takodana. There weren't any traces of greenery, just pure red rocks and a small amount of sand. The same went for the sky. It wasn't a beautiful blue, but a mixture of grey and blood-red clouds, the orange sky barely visible behind them. And no life forms.

"Interested in Korriban, aren't you?" Kylo Ren finally ended the silence stretching across the room, "Do you feel it's power, scavenger? How it calls to you?"

_Korriban? Wasn't it Moraband?_

Reading her troughs, Ren answered her in a monotonous tone, "The planet changed many names through history. Moraband, Korriban, Pesegam... But one thing remained the same..."

Rey waited for him to finish the sentence, but Kylo Ren changed the theme.

"I answered your question, girl. Now you answer mine."

"And what if I feel this so-called power you speak of? Why do you care?" Rey shot back, stubbornly lifting her chin.

"I'll be honest with you," Kylo Ren started." There's great potential in you. You are strong in the Force. Very strong. But your skills are unhoned. You don't know how to use them. I could help you with them."

"What?" Did she hear it right? She must be dreaming. This is just another nightmare... He wanted to help her?! He?! First he kidnapped her, locked her in a cell, tortured her and now he wants to help her. She might be naïve from time to time, but she wasn't stupid. There had to be a hidden cause behind his actions.

"I could teach you. Show you the ways of the Force, of the Dark Side." He answered simply.

"Thank you, but I'll have to refuse."

Her response made him turn around. Dark eyes were piercing her. Was it her imagination or did she saw flickers of gold in them? The temperature in the room dropped for a few degrees as Kylo Ren took a few steps toward her.

"This isn't a request, Rey. You will know of the Dark Side. With your free will or forced, it doesn't matter."

"I see. I'm sorry to disappoint but I won't join your precious Order just because you said so. Nothing can change my loyalty."

"We will see about that."

"I'm not scared of you."

This caused Ren to smile. It wasn't a pleasant sight, it was full of darkness and promises of upcoming pain.

He started advancing menacingly upon her and Rey was forced to step backwards, her eyes never leaving his, curled in a predatory stare, using his height to intimidate. She backed away another few steps, nearly tripping over, only to realize she was blocked by the door. She was trapped. She wanted to panic. Her pride didn't allow her to. Her eyes quickly searched for a key to open the door. None was to be found.

Adrenalin flowing through her veins she looked up to see Kylo Ren standing a hand reach from her, a satisfied smirk on his face. Kriff, she let her fear show.

"You are afraid now."

It wasn't a question. He was monitoring her feelings from the moment she stepped through the door. The moment she was locked in her cell, even.

Towering over her, Kylo Ren leisurely ran a glowed finger from her temple to the jaw, ignoring her efforts to escape as farther away from him as possible. He smiled coldly as he grasped her chin with punishing fingers, forcing a stop to her movements. Kylo Ren actually seemed to be enjoying her growing distress.

"Why won't you just submit to your fate?" He asked in a whisper, his face only inches from hers.

Rey stared mutely into his now golden eyes as he lightly ran his thumb over her bottom lip. The contact was featherweight, but Rey felt pain ran through her whole being, down to the last nerve her body possessed.

She yelped in surprise when he released her chin and abruptly shoved her back so that her back was fully against the door behind her. He squeezed her shoulders a little too hard for comfort and Rey winced in pain. Fear had finally taken her completely over. She began to tremble uncontrollably and she laid her palms flat against the door. She pushed herself against the door, trying to open it by sheer force. Once again her efforts failed. She tried hard to blink back the unwanted tears that were threatening to fall.

"Why fight? There's no way out. Join us and you will have everything you ever wanted," He whispered into her ear, his hot breath sending shivers ran through her spine. "You could have unimaginable wealth, power, a place to call home. A real home with a family to live for."

Despite her best efforts, a single traitorous tear managed to escape and roll down her face.

* * *

**_Please review! It gives me motivation to write more and faster..._ **


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So sorry for the delay! I had to plan several chapters ahead to be able to write this and my poor outline of 4 sentences wasn't of much help :'( Anyway, I didn't feel to much confident in writing this from Kylo's POV, so I'll just switch back to Rey in the next chapter. It's hard getting into the mind of a villain you barely now without making him OOC.
> 
> A/N 2: Yep, this is one of those chapters I will rewrite later on... A serious rewrite on this one :/

_Turning her head back to her host, Rey caught a glimpse of a satisfied grin on Ren's face before being replaced by a disproving frown. Thought it was there only for a second, Rey could get the wicked gleam in his eyes from her mind. It was as thought he was celebrating a success of a sexual experiment. Her breath caught in her throat in sudden awareness and the short hairs on the back of her neck stood up. All her instincts were screaming at her to get out. Fast._

But it quickly became obvious that getting out might not be possible.

* * *

Hazel eyes widened in gratifying shock and embarrassment. Abandoning her previous stance of studiously avoiding eye contact, Rey's gaze flew up and locked with Kylo Ren's.

The minutes flew by, but it seemed as through they were staring at one another for hours. Finally not being able to look at Ren's amber eyes- and very much to the Sith's amusement- Rey closed her eyes, screwing them tightly shut as if to end this... _nightmare_ she got herself into. Ren studied her for the briefest of seconds. His gaze flew intimately over her messy hair, long lashes and soft lips. To any other being, she was an ordinary girl. But to Kylo Ren, she was an _asset_ he couldn't let go so easily. She was his _kal_. A frown caressed her delicate features. Her brilliant eyes snapped open, questions lingering in their depths. Though, she didn't dare to ask them. Instead, she tried to step away from him and the wall trapping her. But without success. Kylo Ren read her intentions and stepped quickly to the side, effectively barring her path. Instead of succumbing to her fate, she lunged in the other direction only to be met with the same results. With each block, the Sith maneuvered his _prey_ back onto the wall. Her annoyance screamed at him through the Force. Ren arched an eyebrow at her and smiled, making a mockery of her attempt to escape.

There was a lesson to be taught here, one Kylo Ren was determined she would not forget.

_Nobody escaped the Sith._

Giving up on her attempts of escaping, Rey was the first to break the silence, "Why?"

"Why, what?"

"Why are you doing this?" Rey answered, " Are you really so evil? So thirst for power?"

Kylo Ren laughed. _Naïve girl._

"Evil? Maybe. Thirsty for power? Hm, that would mean I don't have any. But I have," he flashed her an amused smile, showing all his teeth, "Enough power to bury your precious Resistance to the ground."

Her body was immediately rigid with tension, hatred shinning in her eyes. The look on her face only fueled his desire and all Ren wanted to do was finish what has been started. There was something about the scavenger in front of him, something different: An appealing mix of vulnerability and fear, so sweet and soft. And on the other hand strength and hardness embed into her very being. The result of living in the merciless desert, struggling to survive each day. There was something strangely appealing in that.

There was a desperate hunger burning inside of him, screaming to be appeased from the moment she proved to be a worthy opponent.

_She was mine for the taking- whether she was willing or not._

As if she could read his mind, a tremor ran through her delectable body and the decision was made.

A heartbeat later- with more force than necessary- Rey was pushed back onto the wall she had unwittingly let herself be trapped with, Ren's mouth on the delicate column of her neck, devouring her, sucking and nipping hungrily with the intent to mark; to remind her who she belonged to in case she still had doubts.

Rey trashed and tried showing him away with all her strength, but he didn't let her go this time. Ren's hold tightened and he pulled her against him until he could feel every part of her body against his much taller one. He grabbed a handful of brown hair, forcing her head back cruelly, pulling so hard tears sprang to her eyes. Simultaneously, he slammed her back against the door, grinding his hips against her, leaving her in no doubt of what was going to happen.

His mouth captured her lips just before her desperate scream could work its way out. Ren ignored her struggles, crushing her between his body and the wall without mercy. When she tried twisting her face away from him, he jerked her head back in a painful arch, bitting her lips. A faint metal taste of blood met his tongue as he forced his way past her resistant lips to brutally plunder her, stroking the warm insides of her mouth, nipping at her tender lips.

She whimpered in pain against the assault of his mouth, but the Sith paid no mind to it. He was tired of her denial. Ren knew his cruel behavior will only make it more harder to turn her to the First Order and the Dark Side. She needed to trust him. See him as her mentor, not an enemy. His soul- what was left of it- knew this was wrong, but his body and mind overruled the flecker of light within him. He would have to deal with the consequences when the time comes.

Ren's free hand roamed at will, eagerly exploring the swell of her breast and the curve of her hip, before squeezing roughly at her backside. Despite the heat that was radiating from him, his touch was cold and impersonal. The darkness inside of him feasted on her terror, gaining strength from her fear and panic. Inflaming the blood in his veins. With much effort, Rey managed to work one arm free as she continued to resist the inevitable. Pushing clumsily- but with all her might- at his head, fingers twisting and tearing at his hair in an effort to relieve the overwhelming pressure of his mouth upon hers. His head was jerked back a little and he grunted in irritation. She had more power within her than he would give her credit for. A surge of anger and lust coursed through Ren, consuming him, drowning out everything but the primitive need to dominate.

Frightened hazel eyes stared at amber ones, silently beseeching him to release her. He felt nothing. No guilt. No remorse. Just a total absence of emotion at her distress.

A spiteful smile touched his lips. Mockery lit in his fierce, but dead eyes as his gaze bore into Rey's. He grabbed her hand away from where it was still desperately gripping his hair in a desperate attempt to escape. He twisted her wrist mercilessly before slamming it painfully into the hard metal door. A small cry managed to escape from her lips and Ren's smile grew wider as he took a moment to relish in the power he had over the poor scavenger. Rey's continued resistance was only increasingly his desire to have her.

Using his height to his advantage, he held her hand high above her head, so she had to stand on her toes to alleviate the stress on her body as it was stretched taut. A twinge of pain crossed her face, but she didn't remove her gaze from his. Holding her gaze, Ren grounded his hardness against her, causing Rey to whimper, "No, please."

The tempting little struggles she made send their bodies rubbing together in all the right places. Kylo Ren growled.

His lips were on her neck again, sucking in the delicate flesh none too gently, leaving the betraying marks of ownership behind. Her scent and taste filled his senses, leaving him oblivious to anything but the girl he held imprisoned between his muscular body and the wall. Rey continued to struggle against him, knowing that she cannot prevail. Kylo Ren wasn't only stronger and taller, but the way his body was positioned against hers, left her virtually immobilized. The only thing she archived in her ineffective attempt to free herself from his hold was wearing herself out.

A wave of exhaustion came over her and her body crumpled against the wall. If it wasn't for the pressure of Ren's body, she would have slid down to the floor.

Kylo Ren gradually became aware of Rey's lack of resistance and how her body was sagging in exhausted defeat. He released her wrist from where he held it pinned to the door and her arm fell down uselessly to her side like dead weight. He could feel her pain. How her scalp burnt from his forceful grip and her neck ached from the unnatural position it was forced to hold. She was on the edge of slipping into unconsciousness.

The victorious feeling Kylo Ren expected at overcoming her resistance never came. All he felt was increasing frustration and an empty desolation. Having a lifeless doll in his arms, passive and unresponsive, was not what he wanted at all. He wanted her fire, her spirit. The one he encountered in the forest of Takodana and in the holding cell...

Refusing to accept defeat, Ren shoved a knee between Rey's legs, all the while tasting her flesh, nipping harder than he should. He was determined to provoke a response. He wrenched the neck of her tunic aside, exposing her shoulder and biting at the newly exposed flesh. He scrapped his teeth along her collarbone sharply, leaving an angry red line on her skin. Rey flinched, but otherwise she did not react.

Kylo Ren pulled back angrily. He observed her pale face in silence. Rey's eyes were tightly shut, closing him off. The expected tears were absent.

This was definitely not what he wanted.

On the other hand, he could use her lack of defense as a mean to make her see his way. Make her realize how her life could be like...

"We, will continue this later, scavenger. After you rested. Maybe then you will be able to see my way."

She would have argued, but her body betrayed her. Rey dropped into unconsciousness at his words and Ren carried her to the bedroom behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say about that...


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Unedited and unbeta'd!

Any other being would find this state- a comfortable, warm bed; a light breeze across her damp cheeks- reassuring. Most people wouldn't want to get up. Face life.   
  
Rey didn't. Rey was confused. Rey found no comfort in the warm bed, only nightmares- seven tall, cloaked figures stalking her... ower and ower again during the long night. Did night really last that long?   
  
Rey found no content in the cold breeze, only sadness and loneliness. There weren't breezes on Jakku...not cold ones, at least. If she was on any other planet, in any other circumstances she would laugh at herself for missing the planet which held her trapped all these years. Now, she cherished the memory of her makeshift home and the desert.   
  
Rey wanted to get up. She knew life would come and get her sooner or later. There was no escape.   
  
Though, she wanted to get up, a part of her didn't. A small part of her wanted to sulk in the dark of the room. Maybe that way she could pretend nothing of this happened.   
  
She curled under the thick cover and imagined Jakku, summoning her memories of it and the Niima Outpost. Once, she hated the desert planet. It's boring days, stumbling from day to day, working for portions which tasted like sand. Most of all she hated waiting. She waited and dreamt of the day her family would return for her. And she hated it. She hated the memory of it.   
  
Now, she wanted it all back.   
  
If she got up, then maybe, it would be over. Just a terrible nightmare.   
  
Should she get up? Could she leave this...bedroom? Or was she locked inside? Were they watching her? Examining her?   
  
She hoped not.   
  
Rey settled still deeper into the dark bed covers, curled into a ball, her thin hands hugging her knees. She gazed at the other end of the dark room, where a red light flashed beside what looked like double doors.   
  
Would it really hurt to try and escape? She just had to walk the small distance to the doors and reach...   
  
The tough hasn't even formed itself and she already found herself in front of the metal doors, her hand tentatively reaching for the console.   
  
Her hand froze mid-air when she realized what she was doing.   
  
There was no stopping now, though. If they- Kylo Ren- was really watching her, he probably already sent someone to get her the moment she left the bed. So what was the point of hesitating?   
  
She gently punched the unlock button and waited...and waited.   
  
Her petite face furrowed in a frown as she punched the console again, and again.   
  
She kicked the door with her fist until it turned red and the aching in her muscles was too much to bear. She turned to kick the door again with her foot.   
  
She wanted to scream, but she didn't. There was no point really. She was deep in enemy territory.   
  
And Finn...he's an enemy, is he not?   
  
The memory of Finn in his white armor brought another surge of anger through her small frame. And send her slamming her whole body against the door. That's how those warriors/security/whatnot/ did on the cheap holovids she watched for her birthday in the town's only cantina...   
  
She failed, of course.   
  
Rey's shoulders sagged as she stumbled across the room and sat at the cold floor in front of the bed.   
  
Minutes ticked by as she stared unseeingly at the other end of the room.  This was it. This was her life now. Trapped inside these four walls, despair and nightmares her only company. 

 

It shouldn’t be this way, her mind whispered. But how should it be then? How foolish she was to think she could help the Resistance. And why did she even want to help? She blamed it on the stormtroopers who came looking for BB-8. However, even after they were safe on the Falcon she continued to mingle with Han and the Resistance. This she blamed on the stories about the Jedi and the Resistance Han told her during their short ti,e together. But in the end, she could only blame it on her life. When you have nothing to eat, no water to drink and no real home, it makes people want to make a change. The Resistance was the change. And she wanted to be a part of it.

 

Deep in thought, her mind didn't register the sounds at the other side of the doors nor the change of the light on the door console from red to green.   
  
Her mind, however,  did register… visitors.   
  
A stormtrooper gingerly entered the room with familiar movements. Two other stormtroopers, in identical white from head to toe armor, stood at either side of the door.   
  
She didn't move nor acknowledge them.   
  
It didn't stop him from speaking, though.   
  
"Look, Rey," Finn stumbled for words, " There's no need in hurting your shoulder."   
  
She couldn't see his face behind the helmet. She was glad. Othervise she didn't know whether she would answer him or go for it and try to hit him in the face.   
  
Rey settled for silence.

  
"I'm getting the silent treatment then,huh," Finn said after waiting for the answer he could see lingering in Rey's eyes as she stared at a spot behind his shoulder.   
  
"Okay, then," Finn shrugged his shoulders and went to sit beside Rey at the foot of the bed. She visibly stiffened at the closeness, before relaxing again and continuing to stare at the other room.    
  
The other two stormtroopers also stiffened at Finn's boldness, but didn't relax. Rey was sure they were studying her closely from their peripheral vision.  Not that she could be sure with the helmet thing going on.   
  
"Rey," Finn called her.   
  
No answer.   
  
"Still angry?"   
  
No answer.   
  
"Alright. I get your situation and know how it must look to you, but you need to understand that this was nothing personal. I was jus-"   
  
"Doing you job?" She snapped at him. "You never really cared did you? Weren't in any danger on Jakku, were you? And afterwards on the Falcon, wasn't much trouble either? Is that why we weren't shot down. Because your comrades knew you had a lead to the rebel base...   
  
"Hm, you're brighter than you look." Finn gave her a nudge on the shoulder.   
  
The dead glare he received was enough to silence him. And made him back away a little.   
  
"And cut the helmet thing, it's annoying me."   
  
Finn sighed before removing the helmet and running a hand across his shaved head.   
  
"What do you want me to do, Rey? I cannot go against my beliefs, just as you can't go against yours." He tried to smile, "We're not that different you know."   
  
"Yes, we are."   
  
He continued as through she hasn’t spoken, "We both have our beliefs, a mindset, our unique view of what's best for the Galaxy. True, yours is the opposite of mine, but never the less we are both loyal-   
  
"Oh, get to the point, FN-whatever?"   
  
"Touchy."   
  
This earned him a smack on the shoulder. And another one.   
  
"You're smart, Rey. And just as brave as strong." Finn raised his hand in a defensive position at the look on Rey's face. "Seriously, you're strong. If that was an ordinary door, you would have smacked it to pieces."   
  
Rey glanced at the metal doors.   
  
"Yep, they are double protected. The Front one triple," he pointed to the doors she was trapped against. The memory brought chills down her spine. Not strong enough...   
  
"Kylo Ren is quite anxious about you, you know," He went out without noticing the shiver that went across her spine at the uncomfortable memory. "He sees potential in you. You remember his mystical group? The Knights of Ren? I think he wants you among them."   
  
"I will Never join him or you pathetic-”    
  
"You don't have much of a choice. It's either that or death."   
  
"Doesn't sound bad,” Rey said, shrugging her shoulders.   
  
"What doesn't sound bad?"   
  
"Death."   
  
Really it didn't. At the moment.   
  
"You don't mean that."   
  
Rey remained silent.   
  
Finn sighed, "It really isn't as bad as you imagine it to be."   
  
"So it is bad."    
  
"Better than fighting for a worthless cause."   
  
"Worthless? Really?!"   
  
"That came out the wrong way, " Finn backed away. "Look, the Republic had its chance and it failed. What makes you think things will turn out better now?"   
  
"People saw how cruel the First Order is and will do anything to stop it. Even if it meant to compromise and sacrafice."   
  
"Yeah, right." Finn gave a small laugh, "They also saw all the things the Empire did, but it didn't stop the corruption."   
  
"The Resistance will force them to cooperate."   
  
"And in the end you are no different than us," Finn concluded.   
  
"That's not what I meant-" Rey tried to protest.   
  
"Yes, it is and you know it." He stood up and started to leave. When he reached the doorway, he looked behind his shoulder at the girl still sitting on the floor, a troubled look haunting her eyes.   
  
"Just give it a chance," he began tentatively. When she didn't snap at him, Finn continued, "You were thrust into the arms of the Resistance without any other choice. They poisoned your mind. They lied to you."   
  
Her eyes focused on him. She was read to argue, but he cut her off before she could utter a word, "They showed you what they wanted you to see. Death, destruction, pain. The bd stuff. But the thing is: things are the same where I stand. My brothers are killed every day, our garrisons burned. And it hurts. Of course, your precious resistance will never tell you this. We are barbarians for them, heartless killers. And they are the same for us."   
  
With that he left.   
  
After he made his exit with the two stormtroopers at his heels, Rey wept for what felt like hours. Finally, when her eyes started burning from her tears and she felt as though she couldn't breathe, she stood up. She straightened her back amd raised her chin up.   
  
She was a survivor. And she will survive. One way or the other.   
  
Right now the future she envisioned wasn't bright, but she will make it so. 

  
Rey made her decison. And she didn’t like it the tinniest bit.   
  



End file.
